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Welcome Google For Entrepreneurs, Startup Grind's New Global Partner

When we founded Startup Grind in February 2010, nine people attended our first event. The goal was quite simple: bring good people together, find ways to educate one another, build real friendships and something good would follow. The community grew, the values remained in tact. Help others before helping yourself, give before you take, and make friends not contacts. With each new city we have found amazing Chapter Directors that emulate these values and set the tone for their city. We believe simply that entrepreneurs can be successful in their hometown and we hope to play a small role in building the next billion dollar company in (insert your city name).

Today I'm proud to announce three major milestones:

50 Startup Grind Chapters in 20 countries.
20,000 entrepreneurs will attend a Startup Grind event in 2013.
Startup Grind has joined with Google For Entrepreneurs on a multi year global partnership.

50 Chapters - We had more people attend a Startup Grind event tonight (Seattle, Silicon Valley, and Ottawa) then the first year and a half combined. The inbound demand has been remarkable. About 10% of people that request to start a Chapter ever get approved and we have grown from 20 Chapters to 50 since August last year.

20,000 Entrepreneurs - We educated more entrepreneurs tonight (events in Seattle, Ottawa, and Silicon Valley) then all Startup Grind events the first year and a half. Throughout the rest of 2013 we will host an event somewhere almost every night of the work week.

Google For Entrepreneurs - Nine months ago we started working with the Google For Entrepreneurs team. It was clear from the first interactions that they are 100% genuinely entrepreneur focused. Every discussion we've ever had has centered around figuring out the best ways to help founders and get them the support they need. Their reach and mindset is global which fits perfectly with us. And lets be real. It's Google.

Today we're announcing a multi-year partnership to help as many entrepreneurs as humanly possible. We will host more Startup Grind events at Google offices around the world, we will use their help to grow our community across the vast reach they have, and we will collaborate with their tools and products which our startup loves and uses everyday. Full information on the partnership is contained in the release below.

Finally there has never been a better time to get involved. Does your city need an entrepreneurial jolt? Are you the perfect person to lead the charge? Do your core values match with Startup Grind's? Join our amazing team and start changing lives in your community.

Startup Grind, a 50­city community for entrepreneurs, is excited to announce a multi­year partnership with Google for Entrepreneurs that will extend across Startup Grind's global community.

This partnership will supply Startup Grind communities around the world with Google’s resources and technology. Google will host some of Startup Grind's signature events in its offices, and will pilot events over Google+ Hangouts, allowing people from around the world to be part of conversations with well­known founders and entrepreneurs. Founded in Silicon Valley in 2010, Startup Grind’s mission is to educate, inspire, and connect entrepreneurs everywhere. Since its founding it has hosted more than 250 events in 20­countries, showcasing the best and brightest across the globe. 20,000 entrepreneurs will attend a Startup Grind event in 2013.

"Startup Grind has done an incredible job building local entrepreneurial communities," said John Lyman, head of partnerships for Google for Entrepreneurs. "We're proud to support them and excited to help them grow."

Startup Grind has featured thought leaders like Clayton Christensen and Steve Blank, as well as the founders of companies like Pinterest, Atari, Y Combinator, and Sun Microsystems.

"Not only do our startups use Google’s products, but we love the entrepreneurial culture that their founders have maintained and spread throughout the world,” said Startup Grind founder and CEO Derek Andersen. “These are still very early days for us and we're excited to partner with Google for Entrepreneurs’ impressive team to spread our common values and mission to every entrepreneur in every city in the world."

Today, Startup Grind is also announcing the opening of 10 new Chapters including Paris France, Istanbul Turkey, Cape Town South Africa, Zurich Switzerland, Manila Philippines, Fortaleza Brazil, and Waterloo Canada. New Chapters in the United States include Tampa Florida, Las Vegas Nevada, and Indianapolis Indiana.

About Startup Grind:

Startup Grind is a global startup community designed to educate, inspire, and connect entrepreneurs. Hosting monthly events in more than 50 cities and 20 countries featuring successful local founders, innovators, educators and investors who share personal stories and lessons learned on the road to building great companies. Start a Chapter in your city today! The monthly fireside chat interviews, startup mixers and annual conferences provide ample opportunities to connect with amazing startups and the people behind them, tap into a strong support network, form meaningful connections and gain inspiration for the startup journey ahead. ­ See more at: http://startupgrind.com. Contact press@startupgrind.com with questions.

About Google For Entrepreneurs:

Google for Entrepreneurs empowers entrepreneurs around the world through programs, partnerships, and Google products. With over 50 programs in 110 countries, Google for Entrepreneurs seeks to grow entrepreneurial communities and to equip entrepreneurs with skills and resources to pursue their big ideas. To learn about the programs, or to grow your own skills through free online courses, visit Google.com/entrepreneurs or on Google+ at google.com/+GoogleForEntrepreneurs.

About the Author

Derek is the co-founder and CEO of Bevy, a SaaS product that helps companies build community in real life. Bevy powers event communities for Salesforce, Atlassian, Asana, Duolingo, and others.
Derek co-founded Startup Grind, a community of over 600 Chapters in 120 countries designed to educate, inspire, and connect entrepreneurs. Since 2012 Startup Grind has hosted 7,000 events for more than 250,000 people. In 2010 he co-founded Commonred which was acquired by Income.com.
Derek also previously worked at Electronic Arts on games like Burnout and The Sims 3. Derek currently lives in Palo Alto CA with his wife and four children.